Lance smiled, showing off his perfect dimples and being supersmooth, suave, and charming. But the sight of his smug face made white-hot rage roar through me. First he threw my parents in my face, then my crush on him. Now he was promising to be my boyfriend if only I would be a good little girl and join the Reapers like he wanted me to.
Did he really think I would do something that stupid? Especially for him? Lance Fuller wasn’t cute and charming. Not to me. Not anymore. Now I saw him for what he truly was: a conniving con artist who used his good looks to get whatever he wanted.
Well, he wasn’t getting me. Not now, not ever.
In that moment, I wanted to surge forward and attack him with every fiber of my being. I wanted to use all my Spartan skills and instincts to cut Lance to pieces for daring to think that he could smooth-talk me into doing whatever he wanted.
But that would only get Ian and Zoe killed, given the Reapers still watching them. I had to get Lance, Drake, and the other Reapers to lower their guard, at least for a few seconds, so that Ian and Zoe would have a fighting chance.
So I wet my lips and stared at Lance, as though I were actually considering his offer. “You…you like me?” I said in a breathy voice. “You really like me?”
Lance grinned again. “Of course I like you, Rory. I’ve always liked you. We’ll be great together, you’ll see.”
I gave him a small, faint smile, as though his lies made me happy. All the while, though, I kept clutching Babs’s hilt, focusing on the feel of my sword in my hand and getting ready for the fight to come.
Lance walked toward me. “Just think of all the fun we’ll have, doing whatever we want, whenever we want. Why, if you like, we can even go back to the academy and show all those snotty kids what a real fight looks like. Just think, Rory. You could hurt them all the same way they’ve been hurting you for months now, ever since they found out about your parents.”
I nodded. “You’re right. If I were a Reaper, I could do all those things.”
“And more,” Lance promised. “So much more.”
He stopped right in front of me and held out his hand. “So what do you say, Rory? Are you ready to embrace your destiny? Are you ready to become one of us? Are you ready to finally be with me?”
“You’re cute, Lance.” I smiled at him. “But you’re not that cute.”
I whipped up my sword, lunged forward, and attacked him.
Chapter Fifteen
Lance’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He had really thought I’d agree to become a Reaper, just like that, just because he asked me to. Arrogant idiot.
Lance was still holding the chimera scepter, so I chopped my sword at his hand, hoping to make him drop the artifact, but he used his Roman speed to duck out of the way. But Lance didn’t watch where he was going, and he hit the side of the desk hard. His feet slid out from under him, making him curse and fall to his knees.
I’d thought he might be able to dodge me, but that was okay, because I had a plan B. Lance lurching back gave me a clear path all the way across the office, so I charged over and swung my sword at one of the Reapers guarding Ian and Zoe. The Reaper wasn’t expecting the attack, and I sliced my sword across his stomach, making him scream and drop to the ground.
“Yeah!” Babs called out, her mouth moving under my hand. “Show him what’s what, Rory!”
I grinned. The sword might have been quiet through my confrontation with Lance, but she was in the fight now, and I knew I could count on her.
The other four Reapers snapped up their weapons and started toward me, and Ian and Zoe took advantage of their distraction. Ian reached out, grabbed the shoulder of the closest Reaper, and slammed his fist into the man’s masked face. The Reaper’s nose crunched, and he grunted with pain, but Ian wasn’t done yet. In an instant, he had plucked the other man’s sword out of his hand, whirled the weapon around, and stabbed the Reaper in the chest with it. That Reaper screamed and crumpled to the ground, but Ian was already turning to battle the next enemy.
Zoe snapped up her hand, spread her fingers wide, and blasted blue sparks of magic into the face of the Reaper who’d been guarding her. The Valkyrie sparks didn’t do any real damage, since they were just flashes of light, but they still made the Reaper yelp in surprise and turn away from her. Zoe yanked her electrodagger out of her purse and pressed it up against the Reaper’s side, jolting him with electricity. The Reaper yelped again and staggered back, his entire body twitching. He tripped over a rug, and his head cracked into one of the end tables. He dropped to the floor without another sound.
Ian sliced his sword across the stomach of the second Reaper he’d been battling, so that left one warrior standing for me to attack. The Reaper raised his weapon, ready to block my blow, but I was expecting the move, so I went low, slashing my sword across his thigh instead. His knee buckled, and I surged forward, grabbed his black mask, and slammed his head back against the wall, knocking him out.
The five Reapers were all down, moaning, groaning, and bleeding out from their wounds. I glanced at Ian, then Zoe, who both nodded, telling me they were okay.
Together, the three of us turned to Lance, who had finally gotten back up onto his feet. Drake shoved Lance behind him, then raised his sword into an attack position. A tense, heavy silence fell over the office as the five of us sized each other up, each one waiting for someone to break the standoff and attack.
Lance, I thought. He would be the first one to move. I could tell by the nervous twitch of his eyes and how he kept rubbing his thumb over the gold scepter in his hand. We had to get the artifact away from him before he summoned a room full of chimeras, but we’d have to go through Drake first. I studied Drake, but the Viking was cool, calm, and in control. His posture never shifted from his strong attack stance, and his sword never dipped, not even for a second.
“Ian! Zoe! Rory! Talk to me!” Mateo’s voice sounded in my ear. “What’s going on? What’s happening? Are you guys okay? Takeda and I are still downstairs with the guards! We’re coming to help you!”
Nobody answered him. Ian, Zoe, and I were all still focused on Lance and Drake.
“You—you turned me down,” Lance sputtered. “No one’s ever done that before.”
“Did you really think I was going to join the Reapers just because you smiled and told me I was cute?” I rolled my eyes. “Please. You need to rein in your ego, dude.”
Lance’s face twisted, and anger flashed in his eyes. “So be it,” he hissed. “I gave you a chance, Rory. If you won’t join us, then you can die, just like all the other members of the Protectorate!”
Thanks to my Spartan instincts, I knew exactly what was going to happen next. I could see it all unfolding in my mind. Only this time, I wasn’t three steps ahead of everyone else—I was three steps behind, thanks to Lance and his Roman speed.